Today descendants of those early cows are very different and can now include other red breeds to increase both production and efficiency.
In the 1930s Shorthorns were a popular breed when David Wood’s grandfather established Northbrook Stud at Hiwinui near Feilding in 1933.
Though numbers have decreased there are still about 80 breeders across NZ, including David and Johanna Wood who now own the 140-hectare stud managed by daughter Anja.
The herd consists of 330 Milking Shorthorns with 250 in the spring herd and 80 in autumn mob made up of 35 autumn calvers, some carryovers and late calving cows.
Shorthorns are known for their good nature and longevity.
The Woods have a few lines of six generations in their herd and another, Northbrook Oops, has several generations milking with new offspring due to come into the herd. Aged 20, Northbrook Oops is still going strong.
“She is well looked after,” Johanna says.
“Oops is really friendly and still milking well though she is milked only once a day at the moment and kept close by. Not only that, she is A2A2.”
They have invested a lot of time into breeding over the years. In the late 70s they realised the genetic pool for Shorthorns was diminishing and introduced Norwegian Red and Swedish Red.
They now breed their own bulls and use international genetics.
The herd belongs to Red Breed Genetics, which is the Milking Shorthorn Association’s sire proving scheme and operates through Semex. One of their young bulls is going into the scheme this year to be proven.
“We breed bulls to use over our heifers and a handful of bulls go into the sale.
“We enjoy the breed, we believe they have calving ease, good feet and legs.
“They’re a hardy cow that endures the ups and downs of the weather. Their fertility is good and they have reasonable fat and protein.”
Last year cattle went as far north as Whangarei and south as Invercargill. Prices reflect the market. Heifers fetch $1500-$1850.
The cows are herd-tested regularly and they TOP score the heifers for the sire-proving scheme and to help prove their own bulls. Northbrook stud was recognised for the best overall TOP in NZ at the association’s recent conference.
They cull every month from their herd-test data. They are very specific about a cow earning her place in the herd.
David does AI for six weeks, followed by five weeks with the bull in spring and five weeks AB for the autumn herd and all calves are reared. Some steers are sold before their first winter and the rest finished. About 45 bulls are kept to finish and the remainder for breeding. All heifers are reared and sold.
They hold an annual on-farm sale with an American-style auction. Heifers are paired and bids are placed on the pair. The successful bidder picks which heifer they want and the Woods keep the other.
The only heifers not put up for sale are pets. Every year they give local school children the chance to raise calves for pet day.
“Some have never been on a farm before. It’s great to give them a chance to experience it,” he says.
David grew up on the farm and left school at the end of year 11 to work on the farm alongside his brother, Arthur, after his parents bought nearby land and expanded the operation.
“We milked cows off a farm down the road but needed to walk the cows up and down the road to the shed.”
When Arthur got married the units were split, David and his father ran the home block with a 12-aside herringbone and Arthur was down the road milking through a 10-aside.
“Our father set us up on our own units. He had seen too many families fall apart from brothers farming together,” David says.
“Having our own units meant we could do what we wanted to.”
His father did a lot of showing and they are now both involved with Dairy Event.
“The Stratford show and Feilding’s Dairy Event are highlights on the calendar.”
David is a director on the NZ Milking Shorthorn Association board and Johanna is kept busy both on and off farm. She was recently elected the chairwoman of NZ Football and in March she was elected to the Oceania FIFA council. She has also been involved in judging NZ Dairy Industry Awards trainees and was a principal of a local high school.
Their children are all involved with dairy farming. Karl is a previous winner of the Manawatu Dairy Trainee of the Year. Daughter Catriona is based in Feilding and helps on the home farm when she can and their son Richard is milking cows in Canada with his young family.
For the long term David and Johanna plan to secure the farm as a family farm. The children are involved in the succession plan and everything has been kept open.
Meanwhile, they are aiming to continue to increase production and the quality of cows they breed.
